Dispersion of torsional surface wave in an intermediate vertical prestressed inhomogeneous layer lying between heterogeneous half spaces

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the propagation of the torsional surface waves in an intermediate inhomogeneous initially stressed vertical elastic layer sandwiched between two heterogeneous half-spaces. It is considered that the mass density and the rigidity of upper and lower half-spaces are space dependent. The proposed model is solved to obtain the different dispersion relations for the torsional surface wave in the elastic medium of different properties. The effects of compressive and tensile stresses along with the heterogeneity on the dispersion of torsional surface wave in the intermediate layer are shown numerically. The wave analysis further indicates that the inhomogeneity, the initial stress of the layer and the heterogeneity of both the half spaces affect the wave velocity remarkably. The results may be useful to understand the nature of seismic wave propagation in geophysical applications and in the field of earthquake engineering.